


Waking Up

by KuteKittehs



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: AU, At least one of them isn't, Confused Will, Fluff, Hannibal Loves Will, Hannibal is Not a Cannibal, It doesn't take long tbh, M/M, Will Loves Hannibal, barely there, bit of angst, eventually, only a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 18:46:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9506981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuteKittehs/pseuds/KuteKittehs
Summary: Will hears Hannibal's voice telling him he misses him and is confused. He brushes it off as something unimportant.However, in reality Hannibal and Will's family anxiously wait for him to wake from his coma.





	1. Chapter 1

"Hello, Will," a familiar voice spoke.

"Hello, Dr Lecter," he replied, turning to see the other man.

Without another word, Hannibal stepped aside and pulled the door wider. He waited patiently for Will to move past him into the office and sit in one of the plush chairs.

A little into the session, Will heard a strangely familiar voice whispering to him. He brushed it off. And then, clearly, he heard, "I miss you, William."

He knew that voice. And, yet, it sounded strangely younger. But he knew it all the same.

However, when he turned confused eyes to Hannibal the other showed no signs of having said anything. Will decided it would be better to not mention this and chose to forget about it. 

**

Walking up the familiar porch steps, Hannibal knocked on the door and waited for Mrs Graham to open the door. He could hear barking from inside and a woman's voice shushing the aninal. When she finally did open the door she smiled tiredly at the boy before her. He could tell she was stressed but thanked him for coming again as she opened the door wider for him to enter.

Winston, the sweet dog that he was, bounded up to Hannibal, tail wagging excitedly. The boy smiled softly, scratching the dog gently behind the ears.

"There hasn't been any change," Mrs Graham told him quietly. He could hear her defeated tone and felt his chest constrict tightly.

His best friend since childhood had been in an accident that caused him to go into a coma. That had been almost two years ago and there had been no improvements. Hannibal doubted anything would change but he refused to give up on Will.

Nodding his head at the woman, he moved towards his best friend's room. His eyes took in the familiar sight and sighed. When he saw Will motionless on his bed he felt his chest tighten again. If he tried hard enough,  he could ignore the machines keeping his best friend alive and believe he was just asleep.

As usual, he moved the desk chair over to the bedside and sat down. Gently, he took the other boy's hand in his and stroked his thumb over the soft skin. "Hello, Will," Hannibal greeted. He tried to avoid sounding sad but it was hard. He started a one-sided conversation with him, relaying everything the other had been missing in life.

After almost an hour, Mrs Graham walked into the room. In her hand she held the same, slightly chipped, mug Hannibal always used at the Graham household. He smiled warmly at her and she responded by kissing his forehead. "I do appreciate everything you do for him," she told him sincerely.

"He is my friend, my closest friend," he replied. He released Will's hand and took the offered mug with a polite 'thank you'.

She nodded. "Of course."

Suddenly, the front door banged open causing the two of them to blink in surprise. Before either of them could say anything, it slammed shut again and Abigail made her way into the room. 

When she saw them she smiled. "Hey mum, hey Hannibal," she greeted. Her eyes shifted to Will and she said, much softer and gentler, "hey big brother."

"Hello, sweetheart, I didn't realise you'd be home so early, come help me with dinner," the older woman instructed softly, moving through the door. She waited patiently for Abigail to kiss Will's forehead before the two went to the kitchen.

"Abigail misses you a lot, Will, and your mother, they're both so stressed without you," Hannibal told Will when they were alone. He moved to place his mug on the desk and then sat at the very edge of Will's bed. "I miss you, William," Hannibal murmured as he kissed a cool cheek.

Then he felt it. A twitch of a finger.

Jumping back, Hannibal surveyed Will for any other signs of life. His dark eyes looked over the boy, his hand still grasping the others tightly. It was small, something that could be brushed off as nothing, but Hannibal had waited too long for this to be nothing.

With a hopeful smile, he brushed his finger through wayward curls and kissed his friend's cheek again.


	2. Chapter 2

It was Abigail who opened the door for Hannibal the next morning. She raised a brow at his smile but found, despite her dwindling hope, she couldn't help but return the gesture. "Hello, Hannibal, you sure seem in a good mood," she ushered him inside.

He nodded. "I have a good feeling about today," he told the younger girl.

Shaking her head fondly, she muttered, "whatever you say."

He watched her shuffle back towards her room before he made his way to Will. Inside the room, Mrs Graham was in the middle of the stretches Will had to do every day to ensure his muscles remained strong. She looked up at him and smiled at him. "Would you like to take over?" She asked him, placing down her son's leg and pushing the curls that had escaped her ponytail from her face.

"Okay," he said.

He moved to take her place and continued where she had left off. He had done this plenty of times and managed to complete the stretches easily. When he was done, he moved to sit beside Will.

Instead of pulling the desk chair over, he decided to sit on the bed by Will's hip. He reached out to run his fingers through messy curls.

**

"You were supposed to leave," Will murmured quietly, turning to face the man behind him.

The other's clothes were rumpled, covered in drying blood, with his hair a mess. "We couldn't leave without you," Hannibal said. He breathed in deeply. Lifting his hand slowly, he pressed his palm to Will's cheek gently.

And then pain exploded in Will's abdomen, causing him to gasp and cry out.

**

Cupping Will's cheek lovingly, Hannibal leaned over the other. Their faces were inches apart and Hannibal breathed in the reassuring scent of his closest friend. Then, as he moved closer to press his lips to Will's forehead, blue eyes flew open and connected with his own dark brown.

It took Hannibal a few seconds to register what was happening, that his friend who had been in a coma for almost two years had his eyes open. And then he felt a smile stretch across his face. "Oh, Will," he breathed in relief.

And then Will made a choking sound as though he were frightened.

Moving swiftly back, Hannibal made sure his friend had his space. He felt anxious and worried, unsure of how to deal with the terrified look in those familiar eyes, but also relieved that Will, his Will, was awake. "I'm going to call your mum and sister in, okay?" Hannibal told the boy.

Confusion scrunched Will's face as he, after a few attempts, managed to croak out, "You stabbed me."

Feeling choked, Hannibal backed out of the room and stumbled down the corridor. He ignored the way Winston crowded around his heels, whining to know what was wrong. At the look on his face, Mrs Graham's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, Hannibal, what happened, are you okay?" She questioned, pulling him to her.

"W-Will," was all he could manage, pointing a trembling hand in the direction of the other boy's room. She looked scared as she scurried towards her son's room. Hannibal, not sure what else to do, followed after her.

When she saw Will, looking around the room fearfully, she gasped loudly and her tears began to fall. She moved forward and pulled her son into her arms before sobbing into his curls. She didn't seem to notice him tense or the way he flinched at the sudden contact.

"Wh-where am I?" Will asked when the woman's sobs had become slight sniffles.

She looked back to Hannibal whose eyes were glaring at the floor. Uncertain, she said, "Will, you've been in a coma for two years."


	3. Chapter 3

"Wait, what?" Will looked at the stranger in front of him. He would be an idiot to fail to notice the resemblance he shared with her and it made him feel a little nauseous. And then there was still Hannibal stood in the door way.

Except, Will noted, it wasn't Hannibal.

The boy in the doorway was much too young to actually be Hannibal. He looked exactly like the man and his voice had been the same when he'd spoken but Hannibal was much older than the teenager stood before him.

"You were in an accident two years ago," the woman wrung her hands together before she continued, "you were waiting for Hannibal to have dinner together but there was a shooting. You got shot in the shoulder and it caused you to fall. When you fell you smashed your head against the floor. After that you went into a coma."

Shaking his head, Will tried to move away. "No, I was shot in the shoulder while on the force and after that I decided to just teach at the academy instead." He ignored their confused looks and decided to continue. "Jack Crawford needed me to profile killers and Hannibal was my psychiatrist. Then I shot Garett Jacob Hobbs, who was the Minnesota Shrike, to save Abigail who he was trying to kill.

"Then I began to realise Hannibal was more than my psychiatrist when he framed me for the murders he himself had been committing and he had me believe one of us had killed Abigail. I realised he was the Chesapeake Ripper and then everything went bad."

Will could feel their eyes on him, both confused and fearful. He looked at the younger looking Hannibal and his eyes were swirling with distress. Shaking his head, Will added, "it turns out Abigail was alive and Hannibal had been lying to me about her death. He," here Will choked, "stabbed me."

Gasping, the woman turned shocked eyes on the boy in the door. She noticed he was trembling and his eyes were filled with hurt and fear. "No, Will, baby, Hannibal has been your friend since you were kids, you're best friends, he would never do that," she tried, her voice sounding frantic.

"I, uh, should go," Hannibal mumbled, curling in on himself. What his friend had said had made him feel sick.

He ignored the way Mrs Graham looked at him helplessly and felt his chest tighten at the fear still in Will's eyes.

There was a low whine from the door as Winston padded into the room. He noticed Will, for once not lying still, and gave a high bark of delight. He bounded onto the bed, licking at the male's face.

When Will looked back at the door way after Winston had distracted him, the teenager was no longer there.

"Well, Will, I don't think you remember anything outside of the dream world you made while in that coma so I guess me and Abigail should try to teach you," Mrs Graham spoke softly. At the mention of the other girl, Will seemed more interested in the conversation. "Abigail is your little sister and she's going to be ecstatic to know you've woken up."

Nodding, Will let his eyes travel the unfamiliar room. He noticed on the desk various pictures. He managed to get up, Winston at his side loyally, to inspect them. 

He also noticed the majority of them were of himself and Hannibal.


	4. Chapter 4

Upon seeing him, Abigail had broken down into tears and thrown herself into his arms. He'd been surprised, initially tensing at the contact, before he slowly relaxed and wrapped his arms around the shaking body clinging to him. "Oh, Will," she sobbed, pulling away from him only slightly to take him in.

"Uh, hey, Abigail," he greeted her. The girl in front of him was clashing with the Abigail he'd met in his dream world. He had to remind himself that, even if his dream world had seemed real, this was his reality.

Giving a watery smile, she told him, "I've missed you, big brother."

 Now all three of the Graham's sat down to dinner, Winston remaining by Will's side. Loyally, the dog had refused to move from his master's side since his awakening. Between the two of them, Abigail and Mrs Graham managed to piece most of Will's actual life together, gently reminding him of who he was.

And then Abigail had demanded to know about his dream world. She listened attentively and, although she grimaced at some parts, found the majority of his tale morbidly interesting. "Wow, big bro, I always knew you were a little weird but that's pretty insane stuff," she giggled lightly, not noticing the other's strained look at her choice of words. 

However, Mrs Graham did and she laid a calming hand on her son's arm. "Alright, Abigail, that's enough. It's been a long day and we need to get Will checked out tomorrow to make sure he's okay," the brunette woman told her daughter. "Off to bed with you, young lady."

Pouting, Abigail complied with her mother's orders and, ducking to give Will and her mum a quick kiss on the cheek, made her way to her room.

Once the girl was gone, Mrs Graham turned to her eldest child with an open expression. "I know this is hard for you but we'll make the best of it, yeah," her words caused Will to smile shyly. "Now then, I think you yourself should head to bed, you've had a tiring day," she instructed, wrapping her son in a motherly embrace.

"Yeah. Okay, that sounds good," Will mumbled. He closed his eyes and leant into the embrace, his body remembering the feel of these arms wrapped around him and comforting him, even if he himself couldn't remember anything besides his dream world he felt safe.

**

Hannibal stared at the photo album in his hands. He clutched it in his hands tightly.

It had been a present from Will for his fifteenth birthday. The book was filled with pictures of them, drawings by each of them as well as pictures of their families. Mostly, though, it was pictures of the two of them together.

Sighing, he flipped through it. His eyes took in their childhood faces as they played in the forest, their reaction to a baby Abigail, them playing with Winston until he came to the last page of the scrapbook.

The last picture had been a selfie Will had taken of them both. Hannibal had expected the two just to smile but as he took the picture Will had brushed his lips against his cheek. In the picture, younger Hannibal's face was dusted pink as a fond smile was spread across his face and his dark eyes gazed adoringly at the boy beside him who was equally pink with his soft lips still pressed to Hannibal's cheek.

Tracing his finger over the picture, Hannibal gave a bittersweet smile.

He had wanted Will to wake up. And he was happy he had, he was, but he was upset because the boy had been frightened of him, or at least a dream version of him, and Hannibal never wanted his best friend to be scared of him.

After all,  he'd loved him since the day they met.


	5. Chapter 5

"Oh, then there was the time Hannibal-" Abigail cut herself off mid sentence at the strange look that crossed her older brother's features. She sighed. "You're still seeing him as that dream guy, aren't you?" She asked. The guilty look that flashed across Will's face was her answer. "But he's your best friend."

"Sorry," Will muttered. He ducked his head to avoid the girl's gaze.

It had been three days since Will had come to and he found he was slowly starting to adjust to his life. Even when he had nightmares or he would close up, neither Abigail or his mother minded. They were patient and loving, even if he could tell they were a little frustrated.

"Don't apologise, silly," Abigail told him. She shuffled closer to him and wrapped him in her arms, resting her head on his shoulder. Her hair tickled his neck. "I get it, it's hard, but I'm just a little worried about Hannibal too." At that, Will pushed her back a little with a curious look. "He's your best friend, my second big brother and Mum's second son."

"He's that close?" Will asked her.

She nodded. "Yes, he really is," her answer was simple and to the point. "He's had a tough past and you've made him a better person. Without you Will he may well have become the guy from your dream world," she told him thoughtfully. Noticing the uncomfortable look on his face, she rolled her eyes. "You gave him a family when he needed one and, even though you don't remember, while you were out he stopped by every single day to see you."

That gave Will pause. It seemed he and Hannibal really were close. He knew that they'd been friends but he hadn't realised they had been that close.

"Uh, can I see him? I feel like we should, you know, talk..." Will trailed off nervously.

Letting a proud smile spread over her face, Abigail nodded. "Yeah, he's probably been waiting for you to call," she shoved a phone at him with an expectant look.

He looked down and noticed she'd already pressed the other's name and the phone was already ringing. He raised it to his ear. It barely rang three times before a voice said "hello" politely.

"Uh, h-hey. It's Will," Will stuttered. "I was thinking, I mean, well, you see..." Will took a breath and tried again. "I thought it would be a good idea for us to talk," he said into the phone, waiting for the response. 

"Of course, Will, I will be over shortly," Hannibal replied smoothly.

"Okay, um, bye then," Will muttered and pressed end call when he'd heard an answering bye.

**

Once again walking up the familiar porch steps, Hannibal felt nervousness tug at him. He knocked on the door and waited. When Abigail opened the door with a bright smile and allowed him in, he gave her a small smile.

She pushed him impatiently to Will's room, where he was sat on his bed. She closed the door behind him and he rolled his eyes fondly. Looking over at Will, he realised the other was watching him intently.

"Hello, Will," Hannibal said as he moved to the desk chair. He placed the photo album he had decided to bring on the desk. "How have you been?" He asked.

"Uh, okay, I guess? I mean, as well as I can be considering I woke up from a two year long coma and found out that everything I thought was real was just some crazy dream," Will tried to joke, an anxious smile on his lips.

"I brought a photo album, if you wanted to see it," Hannibal suggested. He studied his friend closely before handing the book over.

"Thank you," Will told him sincerely, appreciating the gesture. He looked down at the book and read the words on the front saying 'Happy Fifteenth Hanni! I made this just for you, love Will'. He felt a blush creeping over his cheeks at the words.

He opened the book and looked at pictures of him and Hannibal doing things he couldn't remember. "It seems we really were close, huh," Will murmured, his eyes never leaving the pictures.

Hannibal cleared his throat. "Yeah, we were."

Suddenly, Will closed the book and looked up at the other boy. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" Hannibal asked with surprise.

Will shook his head.


	6. Chapter 6

After that day, Hannibal and Will had been patching up their friendship. Hannibal was thankful Will no longer looked at him with fear filled eyes and had stopped tensing when he reached for him.

He knew Will was struggling to remember his life before the accident and he understood it would take time. He was patient.

"So, Hannibal, what was our favourite thing to do as kids?" Will asked curiously. He'd been asking a lot of questions to try and spark a memory but so far nothing had really worked. He still only knew his life before from the words of other's.

Thinking, Hannibal closed his eyes. "I'm not sure if it was your favourite too but I used to like it when we'd sit curled up together and read."

Will nodded. And then he remembered. He remembered the way they'd curl into a tangle of limbs, Hannibal's hand brushing gently through his curls, and read, usually ending with Will begging Hannibal to read to him in his native tongue.

"You would read to me in Lithuanian to help me fall asleep," Will told him. His eyes widened in surprise at remembering something and he smiled giddily. "I really loved whenever you'd play with my hair and let me fall asleep on you."

Hannibal smiled back at him. "It seems like you're beginning to remember," he said. He felt warm and couldn't help himself from reaching up to run his hand through messy curls. At the surprised look he got, he went to remove his hand but stopped at the beautiful smile he received.

Feeling content, Will leaned into the touch.

**

Later, Will asked Hannibal to bring him a book from the shelf. He complied but when he tried to hand the book to the other he was tugged onto the bed beside the other. "Read to me?" Will asked.

Chuckling, Hannibal nodded. "Of course, Will."

And when Will eventually fell asleep, hand clutching at Hannibal's sleeve, Hannibal felt himself smiling. "Good night, Will," he murmured. He gently removed the hand from his clothing. Then he leant over and brushed his lips over Will's cheek.

**

Will had been trying hard to remember more. He looked through the album Hannibal had let him borrow, he asked even more questions and he, despite everyone's orders he should rest, moved around the house to try and remember the place he had grown up.

His legs were still incredibly weak despite the exercises they had helped him with for two years and the exercises the doctor's had given him to strengthen them. He struggled around the house, trying hard to remember something. 

He moved around the house slowly, trying not to stumble or trip. However, he didn't realise how tired his legs were getting and when he tried to step forward he found himself crumbling towards the floor.

Yelping, he braced himself for a painful impact only to feel strong arms yanking him up. "Honestly, Will, you need to rest," Hannibal fussed. He ignored the other's protests as he easily lifted Will into his arms and carried him back to his room. 

"I was fine," Will huffed. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled at Hannibal.

"Obviously," Hannibal answered dryly. He reached over to run his hand through Will's curls and saw the way Will relaxed. "We're all worried for you and don't want you to have another accident."

Will dropped his scowl and rolled his eyes with a smile. "I'll be fine."


	7. Chapter 7

Smiling, Will watched some of the old home videos Mrs Graham had managed to dig out. There were very few that didn't include Hannibal as well as the two Graham children. It was interesting to watch the way Hannibal and Will interacted together as children.

"Oh, I remember this one!" Abigail piped up from beside Will. She had an excited look as she turned to Will to see his reaction.

In the video, a tiny Abigail was running after young Will and Hannibal. She ended up tripping and skidding across the muddy floor before she sat up and promptly burst into tears. The boys stopped at her loud wails and quickly scrambled back to her.

"Don't cry, Abby, it's fine, you're okay," Will tried to soothe her, helping her to her feet. He frowned at her muddy hands and tear streaked face. Hannibal gently stroked her hair, shushing her gently.

Between the two of them, the boys managed to calm the crying girl down. When her tears were little sniffles she gave them a watery smile and hugged them both. They smiled down at her then at each other as they wrapped her in their arms. "You're the best brothers ever," the little Abigail told them seriously.

Younger Hannibal was clearly shocked as he looked down at the girl with wide eyes. However, when Will took his hand he smiled happily.

The video had been cute and had shown the relationship the three of them had quite well. He looked over at Hannibal and noticed the smile on his lips as he watched the video move to another scene of Winston chasing his tail.

Feeling his face heat up, Will reached across the small sofa and took Hannibal's hand in his own. As he laced their fingers together he felt eyes burning into his head but he refused to look away from the screen. Then Hannibal's fingers gently squeezed his own.

**

Despite the amount of home videos they had gone through, Will had only remembered a few things. He remembered tucking Abigail into bed, he remembered the time his mum let him sleep in her bed because of a storm and he could remember the many times him and Hannibal had taken Winston on runs through the woods.

It was progress though so Will was pleased. Even if it was slow he was happy he was starting to remember more about his actual life and forgetting more and more about what his dream world had been like.

Something he couldn't deny he was remembering was his feelings for Hannibal. It seemed before the accident he'd been falling for his best friend or maybe he had already fallen but even if he couldn't remember everything they'd done together his feelings for him were coming back.

He was remembering, slowly but surely, the way he had felt about Hannibal. The way he loved him.


	8. Chapter 8

Moving unsteadily through the house, Will talked to Winston about all the things he was slowly starting to remember. The dog followed at his heel and his tail wagged lazily, every so often nosing at Will's hand.

Today, Will thought, was a good day.

And then he felt himself slip. He threw his arms out to grab something to hold him up but his hands clutched at air. He squeaked as he went backwards.

Today, Will thought violently, was a load of bullshit.

A second later, his head collided with the hard wood flooring and his vision went black.

**

When Will's eyes opened, they were gazing into cool brown. For a moment, he felt relief flood his system, feeling Hannibal holding him up, but then he felt intense pain and not from his head. His abdomen was bleeding from where Hannibal had stabbed into his flesh.

 Panicked, Will realised he was in his dream world. "No, no, no," he gasped, choking on the pain. He gripped at Hannibal's shirt desperately, staring into those dark eyes.

He wanted to go back, he wanted to leave this world and return to the other one. The one where his mother gave him loving embraces, Abigail was his sweet little sister and Hannibal was a supportive best friend that he was falling in love with. He didn't want this, he wanted to go back.

An idea hit him through his pain filled mind and he would have laughed at how insane it was if not for how much pain he was in.

"Hannibal," he slurred through the pain, "you ha-ve to make s-sure I die here."

Mild surprise registered on Hannibal's face before it went back to being devoid of emotion. He stared at Will with suspicion.

"You d-don't und-understand but I ne-need to go back," he told him desperately. He tried to convey how serious he was with his eyes, pleading that the other would listen. "I need you to kill me."

He saw a feral smile creep over the other man's features and then his throat was being sliced, his grip on Hannibal lost as he collapsed to the ground. He stared into those dark eyes, noting the strange affection they held, as he felt his life leaving him.

**

This time when Will opened his eyes and he was staring into dark brown, relief did flood his system. Those eyes, he realised, weren't cool but instead warm and holding relief. He felt himself smile slightly.

"You're okay," Hannibal breathed, hands cupping Will's face. He stroked his thumbs across Will's cheeks soothingly.

And then Will weakly gripped Hannibal's shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

When Will was released from the hospital and back home he found himself being fussed over more than normal by his mother and Abigail. Both women had glared at him with worry, upset that they had nearly lost him a second time, but ultimately showered him with loving hugs and kisses.

Hannibal hadn't left his side.

After their kiss, Will had tiredly fallen back against his pillow and smiled gently at the bright blush on the other's face. He'd closed his eyes at the feel of Hannibal running his fingers through his hair and soon had fallen asleep.

Even though he was back home, Hannibal still refused to leave his side. He had laced their fingers together and kissed Will's hand adoringly.

**

"You know, even though I can't remember much of before I could remember feelings for you," Will told Hannibal as they lay curled up together on his bed. He looked up at the other boy's face. "I don't remember a lot but I remember loving you."

The loving kiss Hannibal gave him for that made him smile.

"I don't know when you started to like me but I've loved you since the day we met," Hannibal told the other as he kissed his curls. He was pleased at the shiver that caused.

"How did we meet?" Will asked curiously, sitting up. "You've told me all sorts of stories about us but you've never told me how we met."

"I haven't, have I?" Hannibal hummed. He tugged Will to lay down beside him again as he recalled the day they had met, the day his life had actually started to get better.

When his tale was done, Will smiled softly. "I love you."

"I love you too," Hannibal replied.

They curled further around each other and closed their eyes to sleep.

Although Will couldn't remember much of before he remembered enough to know this was what he wanted. Besides, Will thought as he felt sleep slowly take him, even if it took him a long time to remember he had new memories to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not entirely sure on the ending but it works, I guess.
> 
> I'd like criticism so I know how to improve. It would be a huge help.
> 
> Uh, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure what inspired this. I was just wondering what would have happened if it had all been some sort of dream or something, I guess.
> 
> *shrugs*


End file.
